Now or Never: a Canterwood Story
by R5FanGirl
Summary: Meghan Tanner can't believe that her and her gelding, Shor, made it to Canterwood Crest Academy! Now it's time to prove they belong here.
1. Chapter 1

"Mom, are you sure I'm ready for this? I mean, this is _Canterwood _we're talking about- do I seriously belong at one of the most elite boarding schools on the East Coast?" I asked, looking desperately at my mother.

"Meghan, you've been waiting for two years to get to Canterwood. You got incredible grades this year and spent even _more _time at Twin Oaks than you usually do. There's nobody more prepared for this than you," she looked at me from the driver's seat and smiled reassuringly.

That calmed my nerves for a couple seconds, but when Mom clicked the blinker on to turn onto the long driveway that was marked with a sign reading CANTERWOOD CREST ACADEMY, my stomach began swirling all over again. I took a few deep breaths, closing my eyes and thinking of things that calmed me down. _Friday nights, Twin Oaks, Shor, _I kept repeating those things over and over in my head, but my mom's voice broke my thoughts.

"We're here, sweetie," she patted my knee as the car pulled into the Canterwood parking lot.

"Um, wow," my mouth fell open at the view of the campus. The beautiful brick buildings of the campus were huge, and the antique look they had was stunning.

"Honey, you're gonna catch flies. Help me unload your suitcases," my mom laughed, and I blushed, hoping no one but her noticed my open mouth.

"Sorry, the campus is amazing! It's hard _not _to stare!" I grabbed one of my four huge PB Teen duffel bags, dropping it on the ground and grabbing another one. After a few minutes of unloading, I looked down at my four duffel bags, black Jansport backpack, and purple laptop case sitting on the ground in a pile.

"It says some of the high school football players are helping to bring luggage up to our rooms today," I looked around, and a muscular boy with a black buzz cut walked towards our car.

"What room are you in?" he asked, grabbing my four bags, backpack, and laptop case with ease.

"Room 205, Winchester hall, thanks," I smiled at the boy and he set off in what I guessed was the direction of my dorm.

"Let's get Shor out," my mom helped me open our 2-horse trailer, and I grabbed my horse's black cotton lead-line.

My beautiful, 17hh palomino Thoroughbred/Quarter Horse gelding, Shor, backed out of the trailer, his tail swishing with curiosity. His ears pricked forward as he took in the new surroundings, his palomino coat gleaming in the September sunshine, and his white star and four stockings were a brilliant white. He snorted and struck the ground with one hoof, as if to say he was ready.

"Bye sweetie, you'll do great," my mom hugged me, and I grinned at her as she walked back to the driver's seat. I watched our car grow smaller and smaller as it traveled back down the long paved driveway.

"Well Shor, it's now or never," I took a deep breath and started in the direction of the stable.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you to those who reviewed! This is my first fanfic so I appreciate you guys coming to read it! I plan on updating regularly, probably not 2 chapter a day like today, but I got excited from the reviews and just HAD to upload again :) Thanks again and I hope you enjoy! :)**_

_**- R5FanGirl :)  
**_

I stopped Shor in front of the Canterwood stable and gawked at it. It was a stark white with jet-black trim, and it looked elite and stunning.

"That's where you're going to live, buddy," I patted Shor's muscular neck, and he raised his head and stared at the barn, as if realizing that for the first time.

"Come on, let's get you settled in. I still need to go unpack," I clicked my tongue and Shor walked forward beside me, stepping eagerly towards the stable.

We entered the stable, Shor's hooves clattering against the concrete wide aisle. Roomy box stalls lined each side of the aisle, and tack trunks were scattered, sitting outside some of the stalls that probably belonged to privately-owned horses. Cross-ties were spaced down the aisle at about one for every two stalls. Halfway down the aisle was a door which probably led into the tack room. I led Shor further down the aisle until we were about 2/3 of the way down and I saw a stall with SHOR- MEGHAN TANNER written on the brass nameplate on the stall door.

"Here it is, boy," I opened the stall door and led Shor inside, the layer of fresh sawdust muffling the sounds of his hooves and my feet.

His water bucket was filled with fresh water, and his hay-net was full as well. Shor took one look at his full hay-net and stretched his neck towards it, swishing his tail in annoyance when he realized he couldn't reach it.

"Fine, you eat and rest while I get settled into my dorm room," I undid the lead-line from Shor's halter and hung it outside his stall.

"We're really at Canterwood; we made it bud," I grinned, grabbing his brown leather halter and rubbing the brass nameplate on the cheek-piece which had Shor engraved in it.

Shor snorted before bumping my shoulder with his nose, as if to say _go unpack, I'm completely fine here! _I giggled and watched him begin to stuff his face with hay before closing his stall door and exiting the stable.


	3. Chapter 3

As I walked down one of the many cobblestone paths that snaked around Canterwood, my head was spinning with thoughts.

_What if my roommate's mean?_

_What if my roommate hates me?_

_What if I hate my roommate?_

_What if my roommate hates horses?_

"Get a grip, Meghan," I mumbled under my breath, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it.

"You okay?" I stopped walking and looked in the direction of the voice.

To my left, a cute Ross Lynch lookalike was sitting on a wooden bench, a book in his hands. His longish blond hair was messy in a cute surfer-like way, popping against his semi-tan skin. He had a blue tee with dark jeans and black Converse.

_Great, that's just great! Cute Boy thinks I talk to myself!_

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little stressed- I haven't met my roommate yet," I blushed, but decided to be honest with him.

"Oh, roommate stress, I totally understand. That was me on my first day here. I lucked out with my roommate though, so I'm sure you'll be fine," he smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"Thanks, you somewhat calmed me down. I'm Meghan Tanner, I just transferred here," I introduced myself, and he smiled.

"Austin McEvers, and I'm glad to help," he stood up and shook my hand.

"Formal," I giggled, and Austin blushed a little bit.

"Yeah," he shrugged, and we both began laughing.

"Well I better go- time to meet the roommate," I looked into his deep brown eyes and completely spaced out for a second- they were gorgeous.

"Here, put your number in my phone. You never know what other Canterwood advice you might need," Austin held out his phone, and I smiled as I typed in my number.

"Thanks, see you later," I waved before continuing on the path, grinning to myself.

Meeting a cute boy at Canterwood? _Check!_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey readers! **_

_**Thanks for the awesome reviews, especially Insomniac_Author! You are so sweet and you're right, I made Shor look like my dream horse :) Haha anyways... Thanks to everyone who reads this story! I don't have much to do today, so who knows, maybe two new chapters will be up by the end of the night. That would make a total of four today. You're welcome :) Enjoy!**_

_**- R5FanGirl :)  
**_

I was still smiling about meeting Austin as I stopped in front of the glass double-doors that were the entrance to Winchester hall. "Here goes nothing," I took a deep breath and pushed them open, entering my new dorm.

There was a shiny hardwood walkway that separated a cozy-looking common room and a state-of-the-art kitchen. A pretty redhead was taking a tray of what smelled like chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. Her friend, a curly-haired brunette, was chopping up fruit and tossing it into a blender. Or at least I assumed they were friends. They were giggling and joking with each other as they baked, making friendship a believable label. The brunette looked up and smiled at me.

"Are you new to Canterwood?" she asked. Her friend looked up and shot me a smile as well.

"Yeah, first day," I smiled back.

"You'll love Winchester- we're the best dorm, but we don't like to brag about it to the other dorms, it makes them feel bad," the brunette winked at me, and we all giggled.

"Are you a rider?" the redhead asked, gesturing to my coin-purse, which had palomino horses on it. It was old, but it brought me comfort- something I needed on a day like today.

"Yeah, I just got my horse settled in at the stable before coming here," I nodded.

"One of my friends is a rider- she's on YENT," the redhead smiled proudly, and I gasped. The YENT was something almost _everyone _at Twin Oaks- my old stable- dreamed of making. I wanted to be on the YENT so badly!

"Wow, she must be really good. I bet I'll see her at the stable sometime," I said, and the redhead nodded.

"Her name's Sasha, she'd definitely help you if you need anything. We don't ride, so we wouldn't be of much help," the redhead laughed.

"Thanks, but I might hunt you guys down for help around the dorm," I joked, and both girls giggled.

"I'm Gina, and this is Paige, we're in room 319," the brunette- Gina- smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"Meghan, I'm in room 205. I better go, but it was nice talking to you guys!" I smiled, and they both waved before going back to cooking.

After meeting Paige and Gina, I wasn't as nervous to meet my roommate. Everyone I'd met today at Canterwood was super nice! Austin, Gina, and Paige were probably only a few of the sweet people on this huge campus.

_Let's hope my roommate's one of those people as well, _I thought, crossing my fingers and taking another deep breath as I headed up the stairs.

My room info sheet that was sent in the mail inside a HUGE manila envelope full of information about my "Canterwood journey" said that I had a triple with two other girls- Bree Kepler and Jensen Lewis.

I reached the door to room 205 and saw a tiny whiteboard on the outside of our door. In sky blue swirly writing, each of our names was written on the whiteboard.

I smiled and turned the doorknob, opening the door. This room was my home for the next year- for better or for worse.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey readers!**_

_**Here's another chapter! Did anyone catch the Paige reference before her and Gina introduced themselves? Thought I'd throw some old characters in this FF from time to time. And don't worry, Meghan will definitely meet Sasha, Brit, Heather, Alison, etc during her year at CC Academy ;). Enjoy!  
**_

_**- R5FanGirl :)  
**_

I walked in and stopped suddenly. My room was_ gorgeous!_

The hardwood floors in the small, stainless-steel kitchen we had was polished and looked sophisticated. The white carpeting in the living room and in the three bedrooms was clean and popped against the light wood. Two black couches and a matching chair sat in the living room, and I loved the glass coffee table that sat in front of the flat-screen TV mounted on the wall!

I looked at the three doors that I guessed led to the three separate bedrooms of the triple suite. One had a black silhouette of a ballerina on pointe on the outside of the door, and the second door had BREE spelled out in cute neon lettering on the outside of the door. The third door was empty, probably because it was mine to decorate.

"Hey, you must be Meghan!" the door with BREE on it opened and a petite girl with sandy-brown hair walked out.

She looked cute but casual in black leggings, a loose white tee with a gray heart in the middle, and purple fuzzy socks, and her hair was in a high messy bun.

"Yep, and I'm guessing you're Bree," I smiled at the girl, and she smiled back.

"In the flesh. Is it okay that Jensen and I already picked our rooms?" Bree asked, a nervous look on her pretty face.

"Totally! Is Jensen here?" I asked, looking around.

"Yeah, she's just finishing unpacking. Jensen, come here!" Bree said the first sentence to me, but then turned to face the door with the ballerina silhouette on it to yell the last sentence.

A tall, willowy girl with long blond hair opened the door and strode out. She was a little more dressed up in dark-wash skinny jeans, black ankle boots, and a sky-blue oversized sweater with a long silver necklace that had a heart pendant on the end. I _envied _her outfit. Her long blond hair was in soft waves.

"Hey, I'm Jensen, in case her impossibly-loud yell didn't give that away," Jensen shot Bree a look, but I could tell they were joking.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Meghan," I smiled at Jensen, and then gestured to her door. "Are you a ballerina?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, I've been taking ballet since I was two, and I've been on pointe for two years," Jensen nodding, smiling as she spoke.

"Fun, I've only seen some shows where people dance on pointe and it looks _soo _amazing," I replied.

"Yep, it's so much fun and I _love _it. So I was thinking, when everyone finishes unpacking, we could all go grab dinner at The Slice?" Jensen looked at both of us for approval, and I nodded along with Bree.

"Is The Slice good?" I asked, making sure I wasn't getting invited to a gross restaurant.

"They have the best pizza _ever, _you'll love it," Bree widened her eyes with emphasis, and we all laughed.

"Sweet, it won't take me that long to unpack, so then we can go!" I smiled at both girls before heading towards my room.

I opened the door and closed it quickly, letting out a long breath. Both Jensen and Bree seemed super sweet and welcoming, and I couldn't wait to talk to them more at The Slice. But before I could relax and enjoy a dinner with my roommates (it sounded so weird to say that!), I had to unpack.

"Time to get to work," I eyed my suitcases before bending down and unzipping the first one, beginning to move into my _new room. _


	6. UPDATE! please read

Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. I've been super busy and, truthfully, unmotivated to update.

From what my reviews tell me, my story is being read by two people. I feel like I'm wasting my time updating if only two people are reading. Don't get me wrong, I love that at least someone is reading it out there, but I'm not spending all that time writing, uploading, editing, and publishing if only two people are reading. If you really like the story, spread the word. Once I get 10 reviews from all different people I'll add another chapter.

I really love writing and I feel like I could take this story really far, but not if it's going to be read by only two people. I don't have the time to make an awesome story for just two people.

I apologize to the two people who read this story. I appreciate you guys for your support and encouragement, and hopefully more people will read because if that happens, new chapters will be up.

Spreading the word= more reviews= new chapters (simple as that!)

Thanks guys!

R5FanGirl :)


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